Pulling the Plug on Technology

Does your family spend too much time plugged into technology? Pulling the Plug on technology strengthens relationships. These tips will help pull the plug!

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If your family is like ours, then you are on your phone, computer, or gaming system way too much! The other day I asked the boys to watch Tony for me. They took him upstairs with them and they plugged themselves into a game they were playing… Something told me to go check Tony (read more about it here). After that experience, I knew it was time for our family to pull the plug on so much technology! Pulling the plug on technology strengthened our relationships with each other and we have so much fun with one another rather than staring at a screen!

With Summer here it is the perfect time to Pull the Plug on Technology and connect as a family!

How to Pull the Plug on Technology

Pulling the plug on technology might seem overwhelming! I get it! I mean I spend hours a day staring at my computer working. It does not have to be overwhelming though with these tips.

Tips for Pulling the Plug on Technology

-Have hours that you are unplugged.

I am not suggesting you pull the plug on technology altogether. Technology is a good thing, don’t get me wrong on that. But what I am suggesting is that you have technology free hours so that you can connect. Our technology free hours go from 6pm-9pm Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, they differ a little. Especially if we want to have a family movie night with each other. But the point is, we unplug from our individual devices and do something as a family.

-Brainstorm Ideas

The best advice I can give you when it comes to unplugging and connecting as a family is brainstorm things you want to do as a family. What do you and your spouse want to do? What do the kids want to do? When you involve everyone in the planning it makes everyone want to go technology free. Making a Summer Bucket list is a great way to write all those activities down in one place!

-Talk up What You Will Do

Talk up the things you are going to do! No teen or tween is going to willingly shout for joy when you say we are unplugging from technology. But if you talk up what you are going to do they will start to get excited as well!

Once you unplug from technology and start having fun with each other, it is easier to forget about work and what you need to do. It is easier for the kids to forget about the latest video craze that is happening. The kids now look forward to technology-free hours because they know we are doing something fun as a family! Unplugging puts the focus back on what is truly important and that’s family!

What are you going to do when you unplug and connect as a family?

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Michele is a Family Life Educator. She is a mom to 5 kids and loves helping others strengthen their families! When she is not blogging she is spending time with her family and running around drinking Diet Coke trying to get everything done!

2 thoughts on “Pulling the Plug on Technology”

I’m conflicted. I think I’ll loosen the rules on how much they can plug in, but it’ll be part of their summer plan for sure. Mine are older now (tween and teen) and technology is part of their thing. Looking at our first part of summer, they both have activities and sports scheduled, in between that, if they want to play video games or minecraft or whatever, I think I’ll be fine with that.

When the kids were much younger, we did all of the things you suggested and honestly, it was easier then.